Thursday, January 17, 2008

A time capsule was found atop a bell tower at Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral, where it was placed in 1791 to protect the building from harm, researchers said Tuesday.

The lead box - filled with religious artifacts, coins and parchments - was hidden in a hollow stone ball to mark the moment on May 14, 1791, when the building's topmost stone was laid, 218 years after construction had begun.

Workers restoring the church found the box in October, inside the stone ball base of a cross that sits atop the 60-meter-high (200-foot) southern bell tower. Researchers spent the next three months opening the airtight box and preserving its contents.

Among them was a small case of wax blessed by the Pope that served to protect against mishaps, said Reverend Ruben Avila, rector of the cathedral.